


Lucid

by Syntax



Series: 50k Challenge Oneshots [4]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Open to Interpretation, Surreal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22446151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syntax/pseuds/Syntax
Summary: Everything was fine, and there was no reason why it shouldn't be.
Series: 50k Challenge Oneshots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627744
Comments: 12
Kudos: 61





	Lucid

Everything was fine, and there was no reason why it shouldn't be.

This was something that Hornet found repeating to herself every so often. She didn't quite know why. The words were self-evident.

Everything was fine, and there was no reason why it shouldn't be.

She had a wonderful life with her mother in Deepnest, learning with the weavers how to thread silk onto her needle and use it to make cloth, or how to mend tears, or how to stitch garments, or how to rend chitin, or—

No.

Did she learn such a thing? She couldn't have. Why would she need to learn how to harm another bug?

She must be dreaming. She must be dreaming a lot, lately. But it was fine.

Everything was fine, and there was no reason why it shouldn't be.

She'd made a shawl for her mother to wear, but mother was too busy sleeping when Hornet went to visit her. It struck Hornet as somewhat odd, considering that her mother was sleeping in the middle of the day, but her mother was the Queen of Deepnest after all, so perhaps she had simply gotten stressed or overworked and needed to take a nap for a short bit to recover.

Yes, that seemed sensible. Hornet would leave her mother to her nap then; no reason to bother the sleeping Queen.

That left her with a nice lovely shawl and nowhere to put it, however. And that was proving to be quite the pickle indeed, because for some reason everything in her mother's room was so dusty. Hornet had expected a number of spiderwebs, herself and her mother being spiders so errant silk was perfectly normal, but oddly there seemed... More.

More webs. More dust.

Hornet shifted the shawl she was carrying to free one of her hands and inspected a nearby hand mirror lying on the table, not quite knowing why. The reflection in the glass even held a spiderweb of its own. A series of alternatingly thick and thin cracks ran all along the reflective surface, leaving a broken image of Hornet herself in view.

It wasn't even a good image either. Her dress was not that shabby, and her horns were—

Perfectly polished as they should always be. Hornet gave the mirror an errant polishing with her dress sleeve before setting the lovely trinket back on her mother's dresser.

Nothing wrong with the mirror; she was silly to think there would be. It was perfectly fine.

Everything was fine, and there was no reason why it shouldn't be.

Oh. Oh no, but there was one thing that wasn't fine. If she dallied any longer she would miss the tram into Hallownest to see her father and her dear sibling. That wouldn't be fine at all!

She bid her mother farewell with a goodbye kiss and folded the shawl in her arms further so that it wouldn't get wrinkled or torn too badly as she dashed through the webs and platforms of Deepnest.

She could always repair the shawl if that happened, but then so much of the original work would go to waste.

Hornet wove her way through the crowds of bugs (oddly quiet for such a lovely day) on their way to the tram, presenting her tram pass to the doorman and taking her seat by the conductor's station as she waited for everyone to board. She felt giddy. It had been too long since Hornet had gotten to seen her father, or her step-mother, and while her sibling was always busy training to become a knight, they were pleasant enough company whenever she managed to find them.

Hmm. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen them recently. Did they go on a trip? Perhaps she'd try asking her father about it when she saw him later. Maybe she might even get a word out of him for once!

For a brief moment, Hornet loosened from her daydreaming just long enough to notice that the tram had not actually started moving yet. How odd.

She craned her head backwards and tried looking over the sea of bugs sitting patiently and politely for the tram ride to start to see if the conductor might be hiding somewhere. No such luck.

Hornet eyed the button on the conductor's station.

She eyed the passengers again. None of them seemed to be moving. Did she dare...?

She did. Hornet pressed the button as quick as she could and darted her hand back to rest on the shawl, acting as nonchalantly as she possibly could while the tram doors shut and the vehicle finally started to move.

None of the passengers seemed to notice the conductor was not on board.

Hornet breathed a sigh of relief.

See, Hornet? Nothing bad happened. No need to be so silly.

Everything was fine, and there was no reason why it shouldn't be.

The tram ride wasn't very long, but still Hornet bolted out of the doors as soon as it entered the station, eager to see the other half of her family as soon as possible. She nimbly jumped and scuttled her way down the ancient basin that her father had built his grand palace in, taking care not to bump into anyone or risk damaging the shawl in her arms. The path to the White Palace was a familiar one, and she was one the steps of the enormous building within minutes.

Something about seeing it this time gave her pause, though. Was the building always so fuzzy? So unclear?

Hornet strained her eyes to get a better look, trying to see what was off about her beloved home away from home. There was a crack on the front steps leading up to the palace, easily bisecting the staircase in an uneven fashion. Had that always been—

There was an odd knight sleeping on the steps of the Palace. Hornet couldn't help stopping to giggle at the lax security. How silly of them, taking a nap on the job. She hoped they wouldn't get fired.

Past the odd knight and into the palace Hornet went, shawl in-hand and just waiting to find someone she could show it off to.

The attendants to the Pale King and the White Lady paid her little heed as she walked through the palace's halls. She thought it was rather rude of them. Sure, she might only be a half, but Hornet was a Pale Being too just like her father and the Queen of Hallownest. Surely that would at least turn some heads!

They didn't even answer her when she asked where she might find her sibling or her step-mother since her father was sure to be busy like her mother was, which was ruder still. But it would be fine. She could find her family easily enough without their direction. Yes.

Everything was fine, and there was no reason why it shouldn't be.

She looked through the halls lined with art and flowers for any sign of the Root that her father so adored. She looked through the halls of tempered blades and spinning wheels for any sign of her sibling, training mindlessly to become a Knight. She even looked for her father, perhaps tucked away in his workshop, crafting mess after mess as he searched for the answer to a question Hornet didn't understand.

No such luck. If Hornet didn't know better, she would think that her family was avoiding her.

Oh well. Such were the perils of royalty. She exited the palace with all the grace and dignity expected of her as a princess of two kingdoms. If she wanted someone to appreciate her shawl, Hornet would just have to try again tomorrow after her weaving lessons.

The odd knight sitting at the front steps of the White Palace was still there, head rolled off to the side, dreaming away. Hornet dusted off a section of the steps next to him and sat down. Surely the knight wouldn't be punished for sleeping on the job if they were guarding her?

Yes, surely. Her father was a very reasonable bug. He'd take her side of things, surely. After a few seconds of deliberation, she untucked the shawl in her arms and wrapped it around the odd knight's shoulders so they wouldn't get cold as they slept.

There. Much better.

Momentarily satisfied at her good deed, Hornet eased into the pale stone steps, casually reclining against them as she gazed out into the sky up above them in appreciation.

The orange sun shining brightly over the kingdom was always so much more beautiful from the White Palace than anywhere else in Hallownest.

Everything was fine, and there was no reason why it shouldn't be.

**Author's Note:**

> so apparently im working around my writer's block by just writing whatever comes to mind
> 
> okay


End file.
